Personal Injuries claim - seems low
Discussion
Hoping someone with either a background in Insurance, Law, or from personal experience can offer some advice or their experience etc
Very brief background, my daughter was hit by another driver at significant speed who was not paying attention. her car was totalled and written off. Road closed for 5 hours whilst emergency services sorted everything out.
She was taken to hospital for injuries, soft tissue damge etc, treatment, had post accident physio etc and is on the road to recovery some 3+ months later. Other driver was charged with dangerous driving and liable for all 4 or 5 cars damaged/written off.
We are now at the stage where her injury claim is with the other insurers for dangerous driver, they have admitted liability. Her lawyer has a claim prepared for less than £10k which surprised me. In comparison to severity of her accident situation, it seems a small bump has insurance companies dishing out 2-5k for whiplash.
Looking at details of the claim, the bulk of it is for the injuries - >8k, 250 for inconvience, XS claim and physio costs (which are wrong and has been pointed out).
I would have thought the claim would have been a bit higher given the severity of the accident, the injuries and the not insignificant aftermath, which has personally cost me financially supporting my daughter and her recovery, but probably non recoverable.
She has queried the claim (with correct physio costs etc to be applied) with her lawyer and awaits a response, so I thought I would raise it here as I trust you lot!
So to the ask - Is 10K in the right ballpark for a claim of this type, or is it too low?
Is getting a second opinion possible for these things and how? (reach out to a no win no fee outfit?)
I'm just wanting the best for my daughter and if this is correct and fair, or needs further scrutiny.
thanks!
Very brief background, my daughter was hit by another driver at significant speed who was not paying attention. her car was totalled and written off. Road closed for 5 hours whilst emergency services sorted everything out.
She was taken to hospital for injuries, soft tissue damge etc, treatment, had post accident physio etc and is on the road to recovery some 3+ months later. Other driver was charged with dangerous driving and liable for all 4 or 5 cars damaged/written off.
We are now at the stage where her injury claim is with the other insurers for dangerous driver, they have admitted liability. Her lawyer has a claim prepared for less than £10k which surprised me. In comparison to severity of her accident situation, it seems a small bump has insurance companies dishing out 2-5k for whiplash.
Looking at details of the claim, the bulk of it is for the injuries - >8k, 250 for inconvience, XS claim and physio costs (which are wrong and has been pointed out).
I would have thought the claim would have been a bit higher given the severity of the accident, the injuries and the not insignificant aftermath, which has personally cost me financially supporting my daughter and her recovery, but probably non recoverable.
She has queried the claim (with correct physio costs etc to be applied) with her lawyer and awaits a response, so I thought I would raise it here as I trust you lot!
So to the ask - Is 10K in the right ballpark for a claim of this type, or is it too low?
Is getting a second opinion possible for these things and how? (reach out to a no win no fee outfit?)
I'm just wanting the best for my daughter and if this is correct and fair, or needs further scrutiny.
thanks!
SydneyBridge said:
If she has recovered in less than 12 months, £8k is excellent
Damages are mainly calculated, using the JC guidelines, based on recovery period
Agreed. Based on my experience after being hit head-on just over two years ago I agree. I received similar injuries from which I recovered in around five months. I'm still awaiting settlement but not expecting more than £2-3,000, if that, for my injuries. O/H will be offered more I hope as she's not yet fully recovered.Damages are mainly calculated, using the JC guidelines, based on recovery period
Edited by SydneyBridge on Friday 27th September 18:37
Payment levels are explained here (not my solicitor): https://www.mrhsolicitors.co.uk/list-of-compensati...
ETA: Have corrected injury settlement figure as O/H has reminded £5-6,000 is her likely offer.
Edited by Riley Blue on Saturday 28th September 09:51
Seems a very generous amount to me for the level of injury sustained. I’d take it and run.
The other surrounding factors you mention I.e the dangerous driving charge, road closures and vehicles written off are not factored into the claim for personal injury.
Compensation claims for injury have been watered down significantly over the last decade or more because of the volume of them.
The other surrounding factors you mention I.e the dangerous driving charge, road closures and vehicles written off are not factored into the claim for personal injury.
Compensation claims for injury have been watered down significantly over the last decade or more because of the volume of them.
As has been said, severity of crash etc. won't have a bearing on the claim value for your daughter. Your daughter's claim is for her injuries and losses as reasonably and necessarily incurred, and an injured person bringing a claim has a duty to do what they can to minimise their losses - eg by undergoing treatment with a view of assisting their recovery (which your daughter is doing with the physio).
The police/CPS side of things is entirely separate from this in terms of what charges and punishments may follow.
Your daughter's claim is for her injuries (general damages) and, as above, her uninsured financial losses (special damages). You've mentioned policy excess and physio costs (which are often funded directly by the involved insurer and away from the claim itself under the Rehab Code), but can also include things like travel and parking expenses for medical appointments, medication costs, care and assistance costs (although in this type of claim this would usually be modest/limited), any lost earnings (including if obliged to repay an employer for sick pay received) etc.
General damages are often very modest and claims of this nature will be low on the scale. In a claim under £25k which does not fall fall within the official claims portal https://www.officialinjuryclaim.org.uk/make-a-clai... (minor injuries not exceeding £5k where legal rep not required), fixed costs will apply and getting a second opinion is likely to be harder to obtain. The claims process just isn't set up for it and the whole idea is to keep overall costs down. [Edited to add: since Oct 2023, this really applies to claims not exceeding £100k due to the intro of a new intermediate track governing claims above £25k to that level]
You say after 3 or so months your daughter is on the road to recovery. That is obviously the main thing. With the caveat that no medical report has been seen to understand the medical opinion, but based on your comment that a full recovery will follow and she is heading in that direction, the offer appears to be a very good one. Unless there are other factors not described, of course, such as significant psychological issues caused by the incident where treatment has been sought etc.
It will be a full and final settlement, so your daughter should just ensure her recovery is in line with the medical opinion. She can ensure all her reasonable financial losses are accounted for too. But based on the info provided, the offer looks very fair indeed.
The police/CPS side of things is entirely separate from this in terms of what charges and punishments may follow.
Your daughter's claim is for her injuries (general damages) and, as above, her uninsured financial losses (special damages). You've mentioned policy excess and physio costs (which are often funded directly by the involved insurer and away from the claim itself under the Rehab Code), but can also include things like travel and parking expenses for medical appointments, medication costs, care and assistance costs (although in this type of claim this would usually be modest/limited), any lost earnings (including if obliged to repay an employer for sick pay received) etc.
General damages are often very modest and claims of this nature will be low on the scale. In a claim under £25k which does not fall fall within the official claims portal https://www.officialinjuryclaim.org.uk/make-a-clai... (minor injuries not exceeding £5k where legal rep not required), fixed costs will apply and getting a second opinion is likely to be harder to obtain. The claims process just isn't set up for it and the whole idea is to keep overall costs down. [Edited to add: since Oct 2023, this really applies to claims not exceeding £100k due to the intro of a new intermediate track governing claims above £25k to that level]
You say after 3 or so months your daughter is on the road to recovery. That is obviously the main thing. With the caveat that no medical report has been seen to understand the medical opinion, but based on your comment that a full recovery will follow and she is heading in that direction, the offer appears to be a very good one. Unless there are other factors not described, of course, such as significant psychological issues caused by the incident where treatment has been sought etc.
It will be a full and final settlement, so your daughter should just ensure her recovery is in line with the medical opinion. She can ensure all her reasonable financial losses are accounted for too. But based on the info provided, the offer looks very fair indeed.
Edited by Cudd Wudd on Saturday 28th September 07:35
Mabozza said:
We are now at the stage where her injury claim is with the other insurers for dangerous driver, they have admitted liability. Her lawyer has a claim prepared for less than £10k which surprised me. In comparison to severity of her accident situation, it seems a small bump has insurance companies dishing out 2-5k for whiplash.
Not sure what you're reading about whiplash however it sounds like it may be out of date. Claims for whiplash are now subject to a tarrif which makes awards much lower than they used to be, and only the longest lasting injuries would come anywhere close to £5K.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2021/97803482...
Compensation is determined according to the seriousness of the injury itself - not according to how dramatic the accident was or how culpable the at fault driver was. A low speed prang which freakishly causes serious injury can result result in a much higher payout than a drunk driver causing a high speed pile up from which everyone miraculously walks away. You have described the accident itself in a lot more detail than her actual injuries, which suggests that you might be looking at this from the wrong angle?
For soft tissue injuries if your daughter is well on the road to recovery after 3 months then £8K for the pain and suffering aspect sounds pretty good to me to be honest - compare with the whiplash tarrifs in the link above. If there are specific costs that she's incurred over and above pain any general inconvenience (such as loss of earnings) then she should be able to add those to the claim.
My personal injuries story.
I got sideswiped whilst overthinking a car on my motorbike, fortunately without actually coming off (£11.5k damage to the bike but that’s another story)
The driver admitted fault so I went through his insurance. When I was on the phone to them they asked if I had any injuries. Of course I replied no because I didn’t come off. Then I mentioned I had a bruised pinkie, presumably where I had belted it off his wing mirror.
They went off for a minute or so, presumably consulting with a higher up and came back with an offer of the life changing sum of 25 quid. So I took it.
I got sideswiped whilst overthinking a car on my motorbike, fortunately without actually coming off (£11.5k damage to the bike but that’s another story)
The driver admitted fault so I went through his insurance. When I was on the phone to them they asked if I had any injuries. Of course I replied no because I didn’t come off. Then I mentioned I had a bruised pinkie, presumably where I had belted it off his wing mirror.
They went off for a minute or so, presumably consulting with a higher up and came back with an offer of the life changing sum of 25 quid. So I took it.
thanks for all the replies and information, its been most informative and educational having never experienced anything like this in my driving history.
re others whiplash, this is my only knowledge of such things based on family and friends, and indeed probably a few years ago prior to any changes to legislation or guidelines.
In short it looks like our lawyers are indeed on the ball and barring a correction on the physio bills, it looks like this is a good result for my daughter providing nothing changes.
Thanks again as it really does help put my mind at ease..
re others whiplash, this is my only knowledge of such things based on family and friends, and indeed probably a few years ago prior to any changes to legislation or guidelines.
In short it looks like our lawyers are indeed on the ball and barring a correction on the physio bills, it looks like this is a good result for my daughter providing nothing changes.
Thanks again as it really does help put my mind at ease..
Mabozza said:
thanks for all the replies and information, its been most informative and educational having never experienced anything like this in my driving history.
re others whiplash, this is my only knowledge of such things based on family and friends, and indeed probably a few years ago prior to any changes to legislation or guidelines.
In short it looks like our lawyers are indeed on the ball and barring a correction on the physio bills, it looks like this is a good result for my daughter providing nothing changes.
Thanks again as it really does help put my mind at ease..
I presume this is just a claim at this stage to the third party insurer?re others whiplash, this is my only knowledge of such things based on family and friends, and indeed probably a few years ago prior to any changes to legislation or guidelines.
In short it looks like our lawyers are indeed on the ball and barring a correction on the physio bills, it looks like this is a good result for my daughter providing nothing changes.
Thanks again as it really does help put my mind at ease..
The insurer will likely make an offer less than the claim.
If the offer is rejected by the injured party, then depending on how low the offer is, then there is an option of taking it to court.
milesgiles said:
FMOB said:
i.e. fraud if not true.
It’s not about what’s true it’s about what’s right. Celebs get 6 figures for a voicemail or two being overheard, 10k for that amount of injury and inconvenience can’t be fair Edited by davek_964 on Saturday 28th September 12:31
milesgiles said:
Didn’t realize they had reduced amounts by that much. Think your only route forward to a US style settlement party is to claim for ptsd terrified of driving can’t sleep etc etc
Dream on. Daughter literally over by a van whilst riding her bicycle. Driver at fault. Big effect on A Level results (happened the day before her first exam). Life changing facial scarring and permanent nerve damage to my daughter’s mouth, counselling to help her recover confidence to ride on the road again, an end to her professional bike racing career (only raced once in 2 years since the incident). Worth £30k apparently. The driver got sent on “voluntary” driver education course, no points, fine or ban.
Victims get the s
tty end of the stick in road crashes. Drivers get off lightly. MrTrilby said:
Dream on. Daughter literally over by a van whilst riding her bicycle. Driver at fault. Big effect on A Level results (happened the day before her first exam). Life changing facial scarring and permanent nerve damage to my daughter’s mouth, counselling to help her recover confidence to ride on the road again, an end to her professional bike racing career (only raced once in 2 years since the incident). Worth £30k apparently.
The driver got sent on “voluntary” driver education course, no points, fine or ban.
Victims get the stty end of the stick in road crashes. Drivers get off lightly.
Similar but got more than that twenty years ago. Drunk hit and run he got 200 hours community service lol. Basically left me to bleed out on a country road. Point is if it were now you bet I’d be in for comp for every mental condition possibleThe driver got sent on “voluntary” driver education course, no points, fine or ban.
Victims get the s
tty end of the stick in road crashes. Drivers get off lightly. Mabozza said:
re others whiplash, this is my only knowledge of such things based on family and friends, and indeed probably a few years ago prior to any changes to legislation or guidelines.
My only knowledge of whiplash is through a sister-in-law and a friend who suffered whiplash years ago and it continues to affect them. So perhaps (I’m guessing here) insurers go in with an amount that’s enough to secure a full and final settlement.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff